


There's still time

by AssumingControl



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24282016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssumingControl/pseuds/AssumingControl
Summary: After the war with Horde Prime, Catra decides to finally work on her issues and how her behaviour affected everyone in her life. At the same time, finally acknowledging her flaws and trying to work on them also causes her PTSD to strike stronger than ever. All of her experiences with the Horde -both the one on Etheria and the real Horde- have left a mark on her which is not easy to forget.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, and thank you for choosing to read my story! English is not my first language so please pardon me if I make any typos or use expressions that aren't really used in English.

It really wasn’t a cold night in Bright Moon. Actually, since the war against Horde Prime ended the weather had been quite pleasing on all Etheria. Maybe the planet was aware that now was the time for resting, enjoying some peace and relaxing for once in a very long time and decided to be gentle with its people.  
In fact, the night was so nice that if it wasn’t for the cool breeze that entered through the window of her room, Adora would have remained asleep. ‘Did I really not close the window?’. She had, and she knew as soon as she saw the body of someone else blocking the dim light that tried to enter the room. Catra had opened it. 

‘Hey, are you ok?’ Adora asked as she gently placed her hands over Catra’s shoulders.

‘Oh, um, yeah I’m fine. Sorry I woke you up.’

‘You sure?’ 

‘Yes, I just felt like enjoying some fresh air.’

Adora was not convinced by this at all. She knew damn well that ever since they removed the chip from her partner’s neck she had been having nightmares and showing several symptoms of PTSD. Of course Catra still denied it sometimes, even though she had accepted to be more open with the people around her -especially with Adora- and shared her feelings more than before her issues kept her having the old, unhealthy habits that used to destroy her.

‘I know you, Catra,’ she claimed as she sat next to her, holding her hands and kindly looking into her eyes, ‘and I know that you can have a hard time sharing your feelings and your insecurities. Remember that you are not alone, ok? You have me, and a lot of people who are willing to help you heal from’ she stopped, knowing that finishing that sentence would hurt. ‘Well, from everything that happened.’

The two of them remained silent for a while. Catra’s head was still trying to process the fact that suddenly the vast majority of people she fought against just a couple of months ago were now letting her into their lives and even helping her dealing with her issues. It just didn’t make sense for her. ‘After everything I put them through, why do they want to help me?’ It’s not like she didn’t appreciate the help, she really did, but deep down didn’t feel like she deserved it.  
Entrapta, the person which she sent to a certain death on a hostile island had no problem in forgiving her the second she told her a genuine apology. So did Scorpia, the one person on the Horde who actually treated her like a friend and whom she hurt so much that caused her to leave. 

‘It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it right now, though. I’ll wait until you’re ready, but you’re the one who has to take the first step.’ Adora stood up, ready to return to bed.

‘Wait.’ Catra held her hand so she wouldn’t go away. Her eyes looked tired and ashamed. ‘I just don’t understand it.’ Her voice sounded cracked. ‘I’ve tried to kill you guys so many times and I’ve ruined so much your lives and yet I’m welcomed here like nothing happened. I don’t deserve it.’

Catra’s head was now looking to the floor, her hands were closed and her ears were down. Adora’s arms wrapped her girlfriend’s torso giving her as much comfort as she possibly could. 

‘Don’t ever say that again. You were a child raised under the Horde’s lifestyle and Shadow Weaver’s manipulations. That affects the way one grows up and the decisions you make but it doesn’t make you any less deserving of love.’

Without saying a word, she hugged back Adora and placed her head on the other one’s shoulder. Catra knew that if she said even thanked her she would start crying and that wasn’t on tonight’s plans. Instead, she placed her tail close to Adora’s back and purred; that was enough to make the blonde girl understand that this talk had really meant something to Catra.

‘We should get back to bed.’ Catra whispered.

‘I agree. After all, you’re the one making breakfast tomorrow and I really don’t want to eat burnt toast again.’ 

‘Oh, you are so getting moldy bread if you don’t stop complaining about my cooking skills.’ She replied, chuckling.

‘Hey, it’s not my fault if you can’t even cut an apple into pieces without turning the whole kitchen into a huge mess.’

‘At least I haven’t smashed a whole table because I thought cutting a cake with my magic sword was such a good idea.’ A smug smile was visible on Catra’s face.

This particular fight over who was the dumber one went for several minutes until they finally ended up in bed, just looking each other. Adora could see the bags under Catra’s eyes, she definitely hadn’t got any sleep that night. 

‘Adora, could you-? Could you tell Perfuma that I want to talk to her about something? I think that she could help me with something’

For a moment Adora thought about telling Catra she could ask her herself, since she was no longer a threat to anyone but after remembering that she feels like an intruder she changed her mind.

‘Sure, I had to discuss stuff with her anyways, it’ll be my pleasure.’

‘Thanks.’ She said softly, closing her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, and thank you for choosing to read my story! English is not my first language so please pardon me if I make any typos or use expressions that aren't really used in English.

The sun rose up in the sky and with it, most inhabitants of Etheria began their day. Glimmer woke up and within a few minutes she was ready for the day she had ahead. The last few days had been messy, especially on Bright Moon where a lot of the damage the war had caused was still pretty recent, and Glimmer was the one responsible of supervising that nothing was out of the ordinary and that the cleaning was going as expected. King Micah had volunteered for the task the first day they actually talked about it, but both he and his daughter agreed that his help would be more needed on Mystacor, were Prime’s damages really were something that had to be taken care of as soon as possible. 

‘Do you intend to sleep until noon or are you gonna wake up and help us finish our reconstruction plan?’

‘What time is it?’ Bow muttered with his head still buried under his pillow.

‘Time to do stuff.’ She replied, throwing a cushion at him.

‘All right, all right. I’ll wake up.’ He yawned. ‘I went to bed late last night, go easy on me, will you?’

‘Hey, you only have yourself to blame for that. You didn’t need to make that doll in such a hurry, you could have finished it today.’

‘First of all, it’s not a doll: it’s a war-table, battle figure. And second, I had to. Catra was the only one without it, now she can feel more included in our meetings.’

‘I really don’t know if she’s the type of person that would get offended if she didn’t get a custom figurine. It looks really nice, though.’

‘Thank you. To be honest, getting her nails right was a lot of trouble...’

Not so far away, just some rooms in fact, Adora was the first one to wake up. Dawn’s sunbeams lighted Catra’s face, surrounding her with this is oddly magical atmosphere. Adora just stood there, laying by her side watching her sleep until a little smile escaped from Catra’s lips.

‘Enjoying the view?’

‘I sure am. You look so cute when you’re asleep.’

‘Shut up, I’m not cute.’ She replied, pushing her hand against Adora’s face.

‘Oh, but you are.’ Adora stated, bugging her even more.

Now Adora had to deal with both Catra’s and Melog’s complaints and she loved it. When she had these little squabbles she was aware that really that one was the biggest problem she would have to worry about that day. No more alien spaceships to take down, no more Horde soldiers to fight defending some random town; just teasing Catra as much as she physically could. 

‘By the way, today’s the last day all the princesses will be here. Do you want to say goodbye to them before they leave?’

‘Weren’t some of them going to stay here a little longer? I counted on it.’

‘How so? And yes, Mermista and Scorpia were going to stay here until they decided what to do with their kingdoms but apparently they had a change of mind.’ Adora explained, getting dressed.

‘Huh. Well, I-, I still don’t think I should just. You know, pop up in your meetings. What if they kick me out of it? I’m sure Frosta’s pretty mad at me. I probably shouldn’t go.’

‘Hey you were the one that said you wanted to help us. But if you’re scared of them I totally understand that.’

‘What? I’m not afraid of them!’

‘Then prove it. Prove that you’re not scared of confronting them or trying to improve. I’ll be right beside you, no one will harm you. I promise.’

There it was. Those two words really were Catra’s weakness. She couldn’t help but believe Adora every time she said it. And she had reasons for that, Adora had always kept her word and obviously this wasn’t going to be the first time she wouldn’t.

‘Ugh, whatever. I’ll go. But you have to make sure Netossa throws that spray bottle away. If she attacks me with that thing again I will defend myself.’

‘Gosh, you’re so dramatic. It’s just water.’

‘Well, I don’t like it.’ Melog nodded, approving her point.

It didn’t take everyone too long to be prepared for the meeting and so, roughly an hour after everyone who played an important role in the Rebellion was inside the tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm sorry if this chapter is too short but I think I'll keep them this length in order to not overwhelm myself. This way I can post more regulary, thanks for understanding!


	3. Chapter 3

Between all the different conversations taking place and mixing with one another for anyone who just passed by, one could hear each one of them if paying close attention to them. Netossa and Spinnerella were talking about how Adora reached to them for advice in her new and confusing relationship with a former enemy. 

The conversation had been quite funny actually, the blonde girl wouldn’t stop asking questions that went from very naive ones like ‘But does she really like me?’ to ones way more deep such as ‘Does Catra still sees me as a threat and that’s why she’s been so nervous since we arrived to Etheria?’ or ‘Can we really make this work? Our friendship already had problems before, what if this happens again?’. Both told her that she needed to relax a little bit. They talked about every issue for several hours, giving the best advice they possibly could and ended up leaving Adora with more confidence than when she walked in. However, little did she know that Catra had also paid Netossa a visit that very same day. It’s not like she would tell her that anyway, after all Catra made her promise it. 

It turns out that they both shared the same fear: they didn’t know if this romance would last. Catra, for her part, was terrified of hurting her girlfriend again. She believes that even though Adora said she forgives her for everything that happened, she doesn’t really believe it. The guilt of her past actions still hunts her, and that does nothing but to aggravate her insecurities.

On the opposite side of the tent, more trivial discussions were taking place. Swift Wind was being really persistent about wanting to join the next ‘princess exclusive, fancy party’ as he was not invited to the previous one despite being She-Ra’s noble steed, which really bothered him. Frosta promised the next time she throws a party he would be the first one to know as long as he gave her a ride above Bright Moon before she leaves. The deal was sealed.  
Everyone else was just chatting about what they would do after cleaning everything up, since they finally can no longer have to worry about more upcoming wars. Entrapta mentioned something about teaching Wrong Hordak how emotions and relationships work, even if she wasn’t the most expert person in the matter. Sea Hawk’s shanties were travelling to everyone’s ears as Mermista groaned, asking him to stop. This, of course, only made him swap the song’s theme and now the lyrics were about Mermista, which only pissed her off more.

The silence took over the group when the whole Best Friend Squad walked inside. Definitely, seeing Catra as part of the Rebellion was something that not everybody was used to. Not yet, anyway.

‘Eh, what is she doing here?’ Mermista asked with usual tone.

Catra’s ears ducked. ‘I told you, I’m just making people uncomfortable.’ She whispered to Adora.

‘Nonsense.’ She replied. ‘I know this is a bit of a new situation for everyone but I remind you that Catra is now part of our alliance.’

‘Look Adora, I get that she is now your girlfriend or whatever. But you really don’t expect me to forget she was pretty much responsible for the destruction my kingdom, right?’

‘I am sorry about that. I’ll make up for it.’ Her eyes looked directly to the ground. Man, facing everyone was tougher that she had expected. ‘I will try, at least.’

‘Guys,’ Glimmer interrupted. ‘Catra has done a lot of wrong things. We know that. But she’s also the reason we’re alive today. She willingly decided to save me from Prime. And we all know that in the end she was the one who kept Adora from giving up.’

‘Wait, you told everyone that?’ Catra quickly interrupted, blushing.

‘She’s trying really hard to become a good person. Can you guys at least try and give her a chance to prove it?’ Glimmer continued. Her bond with Catra had become stronger since their experiences on Horde Prime’s ship and was now way more emphatic to her than ever before. After all, she also had made horrible decisions in the past. 

Some of the princesses agreed with this petition the second Glimmer finished talking. Scorpia, Perfuma and Entrapta had no trouble with it. Mermista and Frosta on the other hand weren’t all that excited about the idea, but they accepted the truce reluctantly. 

With that little distraction concluded, they moved into the main issue. For almost an hour every kingdom’s name was spoken and several decisions were made. The Kingdom of Snows and Dryl will aid in the reconstruction of Salineas; Plumeria will help making the Fright Zone hospitable again; and Bright Moon and Mystacor will support each other if additional assistance is needed. 

‘Well, that wraps up everything. Anyone wants to add something?’ Netossa asked. No answer was given. ‘Good. Then we’ll see each other next month to update everyone’s situation.’

As everyone was leaving the tent, Catra ran straight to Scorpia, who was a couple of meter ahead of her.

‘Scorpia, wait!’ 

‘Oh, hi Catra. Are you here to say goodbye?’

‘No, actually.’ She stopped for a second. ‘I was wondering if I could... Go to the Fright Zone and help you clean the whole place up. You won’t let me finish any of my apologies but I wanna show you that I’m trying to do better.’ Another short pause followed as her eyes drifted away from her face. ‘If you don’t want to I totally get it.’

A fond smile took over Scorpia’s face. That woman really had a golden heart. ‘Of course you can. I need someone who really knows the perimeter to help me figure out some stuff and you look like the woman for the job.’

‘Thanks, Scorpia. Really. I have to tell Adora and the rest about it, though. I won’t take long.’ 

And she actually didn’t. Yes, Catra mainly said that she was going with Scorpia to the Fright Zone to right some wrongs, but considering all the concerns Adora had about it, it was almost a miracle that she was back in less than fifteen minutes. 

‘Catra, I don’t know if going back there would make you any good’ Adora pointed almost immediately. It wouldn’t. She knew that. She didn’t care either. This time it wasn’t about her, it was about helping other people. 

‘I know, but I have to do this, Adora. I owe her this at the very least. I wanted to ask the same thing to Mermista but we both know what her answer would have been.

‘Sigh. You have to be careful, ok?’ At this point Adora’s hands were surrounding Catra’s unconsciously. ‘And if anything happens, you’ll call me. That’s the deal.’

‘I can work with that.’ She answered, smirking. 

With a kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek and a lot of work ahead, Catra joined Perfuma and Scorpia in her journey to the Fright Zone. She was scared, like she hadn’t been in a long time. That place only gave her bad memories and now she was going to stay there for at least a month, if her mental health let her stay that long.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first experience writing on this website so I'm not familiar with the whole html stuff, I will try to improve the visual aspect of the chapters as I learn more about how it works!


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